The international release is "ruthless"

[~StatesTheOblivious~ 1,794]

"Say what?"

 

Yeah, I know what you think. And from a certain point of view I agree with you.

 

Yes, it is good that Hasbro actually does something to please fans worldwide.

Yes, something that could have been only limited to a release in the US comes to several countries now.

Yes, we bronies can watch and support at the same time.

 

But there is one question that can't be answered. At least not that easy.

 

"Mom, why is Twilight a princess?"

 

In case you follow the news on Equestria Daily, you might have read that the movie will come to Germany, Malaysia and the UK.

 

You see, if someone watches the show only in their language or doesn't draw on sources like Youtube, it comes down to the simple fact that in most countries Twilight "didn't beome an alicorn yet". It is not just about the younger fans. If you follow the best-case scenario that every company wants, you buy what they offer from sources they support. Yes, Hasbro knows that many people watch FiM on Youtube. But those people also buy merch. Bronies buy merch and parents do as well.

 

Equestria Girls may be non-canonical, but it resorts to canon actions that didn't happen in dubbed versions of the show yet. If you don't watch the episodes as they air on the Hub and don't watch them until they air wherever you live on this world, you are suddenly faced with that movie and things you "can't" know.

 

I know. Hasbro is a corporation that can't hesitate when it comes to good chances. But spreading the movie all over the world before "Magical Mystery Cure" aired in those countries...

 

I just can't relate to that.

 

It is a huge fanservice, yes. But only for us bronies. And even then... I don't know.

 

How about you?

[Jadefire 2,796]

It doesn't particularly matter. Tv shows are often watched out of order, and I personally have watched shows where I had no idea what was going on, and still got plenty of enjoyment out of it.

 

So I don't think is just fanservice, and I think people in their home countries will still get enjoyment out of the movie. Besides, the intro to EQG did give enough information to understand that Twilight was now a princess without getting lost.

[Blique 211]

As much as I now prefer watching things chronologically and "properly", when I was little, the Sailor Moon episodes I watched were insanely out of order. I'd skip seasons without a thought, as long as I was entertained by what I saw.

 

Same goes with all the other shows I watched, especially anime (generally more plotty than most American cartoons). I was always missing an episode every week or two, because life sucks, and parents and siblings apparently don't understand how a TV schedule works. Furthermore, DVDs are expensive on the tiny allowance kids get, if they even get any at all. Life is harsh on kids; they make do with what they have.

 

Little girls probably don't scour the internet for subs, but I know that English-with-Japanese-subs episodes were available long before the dubs came out. No idea about other languages, but if a brony community is zealous enough, they'll find a way.

 

Also, going back to my Sailor Moon anecdote, even as a little girl barely versed in the interwebz, I was Googling Sailor Moon all the time because I couldn't get enough. If those little MLP fans like the show enough, they've probably already run into plenty of Twilicorn regardless of whether they understand it or not.

[Fhaolan 4,468]

This isn't that unusual. Eastern, European, and Australian shows that get imported to the 'states also tend to show up out-of-order, causing a lot of confusion.

[Dark Horn 430]

Even though it's stupid, Star Wars was released backwards, and people watch things out of order all the time.

 

Besides, EQG has enough plot holes that "Why is Twilight a princess?" will just be one of many.

[Best Pony 83]

You do realize how Hasbro operates in other countries?

 

Hasbro licenses their shows and basically sells them to other TV channels around the world according to contracts.  Since these are other companies that are giving Hasbro money, not Hasbro giving them money, Hasbro will try to sell the show on the best terms for the other TV Channels themselves.

 

It's really your local international tv channels that are not airing the seasons early enough.